Lake District Log 2013

We had 20 members supporting the Lake District meet, nineteen of us based in the splendid George Starkey hut in Patterdale. Once again we were blessed with warm dry weather for the four days and, once again, everybody took full advantage of this fine spell to sample as many of the climbing delights the area has to offer as they could possibly fit in. Always an early riser myself, it pleased me no end to be beaten to it every morning by, not one, but several, eager beavers anxious to get some space beneath their feet.

We climbed routes from Diff to E2, on crags that ranged from roadside to remote, with everyone getting a chance to lead, and the list of crags visited makes for impressive reading: Gouther crag in Swindale; Gimmer, White Ghyll and Raven in Langdale; Black Crag, Shepherd’s and Lr. Falcon in Borrowdale; Napes and Kern Knotts on Gable; Castle Rock in Thirlmere and Dubhow Crag in Patterdale. It says a lot for the tremendous variety of venues on offer that, after 40 years of climbing in the Lake District, I was still able to visit two crags I hadn’t climbed on previously.

It is this broad range of multi-pitch climbs, spread over all the grades and scatterd over a wide variety of crags, that makes the Lake District and Snowdonia such attractive venues for a club like ours, with members operating at several different levels. And if I make the point yet again that this meet, and the Snowdonia meet, are particularly good for those climbers wishing to move on from single-pitch climbing to the more satisfying and enjoyable multi-pitch climbs, or for those hoping to pay a first visit to the Alps, it is simply because this is a point worth making again and again. We not only visited the crags, we also visited a number of the local hostelries, enjoying good grub and the local brews, and a few bob was spent in Needle Sports on ropes, shoes and gear.

I’m already in the process of sussing out a base for next year’s meet.